California mom one of two killed in plane crash near Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — Two people died when a small plane crashed on a foggy ridge near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge on Friday, authorities said.

An emergency beacon for a small aircraft was activated at 2:15 p.m. in the Marin Headlands northwest of the bridge, the Golden Gate National Park Service tweeted.

Searchers found the wreckage and the two bodies on a ridge in the back country away from roads and trails, the park service said.

The names of the victims weren't immediately released by authorities, but Jesuit High School, a private school in Sacramento, released a statement saying one of the victims, Jennifer Fox, was the mother of a student at the school. She was also an aunt to five students and had a daughter at nearby St. Francis High School.

"Jennifer and her friend died in a plane crash on Friday afternoon," the statement read. "With hearts still heavy from the tragic loss of our student earlier this week, we are aware that many in our community, especially the sophomore class at Jesuit and the senior class at St. Francis, will be particularly impacted by this additional loss and in need of loving support."

In a statement to CBS San Francisco, Fox's family said "This is an enormous loss to our family and our entire close-knit community."

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a single-engine Vans RV-10 and it went down around 2:40 p.m. The plane, which can carry four people, is sold as a kit that can be built at home.

“Fog is completely obscuring the area and the crash site is closed for the investigation," the National Park Service said several hours after the crash.

However, it wasn't immediately clear whether weather played a role in the crash, which was under federal investigation.

Contributing: Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY